Aspley Guise is a village and civil parish in the west of Central Bedfordshire, England. In addition to the village of Aspley Guise itself, the civil parish also includes part of the town of Woburn Sands, the rest of which is in the City of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire. Together with Woburn Sands and Aspley Heath, it forms part of the Milton Keynes urban area. It is centred east southeast of Central Milton Keynes and south of the M1 junction 13. It has its own railway station on the Marston Vale Line, and an historic centre with 29 listed buildings.

History

Toponymy

Asperele and Aspel are recorded in Letter Patents, Assize Rolls and such documents of the 13th century, with the names Aspelegise appearing in the following century.

The name derives from "Aspenlea" meaning the aspen clearing – and from the late medieval period, "of the de Guise family" when Anselm de Gyse became Lord of the Manor in 1375.

Its church is mentioned in the records of the diocese in 1223.

During the Second World War, the community housed several secret facilities relating in some manner to code-breaking and propaganda.

Aspley Manor

Most of the cultivated land was held by the manor in the medieval period.

Rectory

As to the church lands and tithes, in 1317 a further confirmation of Simon de Beauchamp's grant of the church and two parts of the tithes was made in favour of Newnham Priory. In 1544, these lands and the advowson were released by John Gyse and Anselm his son and heir to the Crown. In the similarly timed Dissolution of the Chantries (one year before its famed successor) an acre here was appropriated by the crown and its proceeds given to fund a new church window. with the vicarage of Husborne Crawley and re-established half a century later.

The church charities

The Town Close, containing and administered by the ecclesiastical parish, was awarded to the village by the (33 Geo. 2. c. 45 ). By 1912, it still produced (as a benefit for the poor) agricultural produce worth £8 18s. a year, which was expended from time to time on its produce-growers' work.

Landmarks

The Aspley Guise Conservation Area (designated in 1971 and amended in 2008) includes a number of buildings with historic importance; several are of high architectural importance.

The garden walls and gateway of Aspley House are listed in an entry separate from the house; in total, there are 32 structures in the community that have been identified by English Heritage as worthy of historic listing; all are Grade II listed buildings.

St Botolph's church

According to the diocese records, a church was built on this site circa 1223. Historic record specifically mention it and state that control of the parish was held by Newnham Priory. The land (manor) owner at the time was Sir Falkes de Breauté but the holding passed to Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent, in 1227.

The current Anglican church is medieval and dedicated to St Botolph, also known as Botwulf of Thorney, an English abbot who died in 680 AD. One source states that parts of the building were constructed in the 15th century but it was significantly modified in the 19th century. The stained glass is mostly from the Victorian era. The building is "mainly coursed ironstone with ashlar dressings".

A history from 1912 states that the church had been so extensively modified that "its architectural history is in large measure uncertain". The tower shows three dates when work was completed: 1665, 1765 and 1855.

The church tower has six bells, made by John Taylor & Co (Taylor's of Loughborough) and

installed in 1883. Its southern window of a nativity screen was installed during the last major series of renovations and is described by the church as "very fine". rector, c.1410, another c.1500, probably to Sir John de Gyse/Guise.

Aspley House

This was built in 1690 according to some sources, but the historic listing indicates 1695; it is in the style of Sir Christopher Wren and was modified circa 1750 and again later. In 1912 this house still contained many fine portraits of the Hervey and Chernock families.

The Old House

The Old House is timber-frame (of typical Tudor architectural construction) and dates from 1575, according to Historic England, with some Georgian alterations.

The local Council believes it was built as early as 1545, and this may be the oldest building in the community.

Others

The village has 26 other examples of listed architecture, many of them early Georgian.

The village is served by Aspley Guise railway station, a small station on the Marston Vale Line running between Bedford and Bletchley.

Topography

The southwestern area, which includes Aspley Wood has substantial pine trees, the west has a public golf course, accessed from either road to Woburn Sands. In the northern part crops are grown. Aspley Heath, once part of the parish, is now its own village and civil parish and is south of Aspley Wood, relatively distant to the south-west.

Following the 2010 United Kingdom general election, the coalition government cancelled its predecessor's regional housing targets and bodies. The Local Authority (Central Bedfordshire Council) has since put forward a Local Plan that identifies this area of land for development of 3,000 homes plus facilities.

Transport

Road

Aspley Guise is bisected by Bedford Road, which heads eastwards towards Junction 13 of the M1, and westwards towards Newport Road, which heads southwards towards Woburn, and northwards towards Woburn Sands and the wider Milton Keynes urban area.

Rail

Aspley Guise railway station is on the Marston Vale line between and and has trains hourly Monday-Saturday. It is three calling points east of Bletchley for interchange with local services on the West Coast Main Line.

Notes

References

  • Aspley Guise pages at the Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service